The title of this piece is Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Performed by the Plantation Singers of Charleston, South Carolina. Their music originates from the low country of South Carolina. This piece is known as a negro spiritual which was one of many sung during and after the slavery period in America. The piece begins with a soloist and an acapella group. After two call and responses, the song is repeated with instruments and a quicker tempo. The Plantation Singers use percussive instruments such as; tambourines, wood block, hand drum, bongos, and a cabasa. The soloist begins the solo with the call, “Swing low, sweet chariot.” The choir responds with, “Coming forth to carry me home.” Together, they repeat the words from both the call and the response.
Each time the soloist/leader sings a call, the choir responds with “Coming forth to carry me home.” Pieces like this can allow students to “practice and play out skills and concepts they have begun to acquire” Campbell, pg. 212. The soloist can change the words, as long as they understand the musical structure. Negro spirituals were sung at churches. Using one of Campbell’s suggestions, students could collect songs with call and response form and develop a medley of these songs. The students could also use their stead percussive rhythm to create a call and response form.
Campbell, P. S. (2004) Teaching Music Globally. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.
[RTL Nieuws New York]. (2012, February 22). Swing Low, Sweet Chariot -The Plantation Singers. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/ljup8cIRzIk.
I am curious about your thoughts on the use of spirituals to use as inspiration for call and response form. Yes, spirituals often provide clear examples of this form, but I wonder if students were to use them for mostly form purposes if they would still be able to maintain the important context of the pieces. How would you use them for creating while still addressing the context?
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